Holiday Shopping
*There are roughly 1,175 malls in the United States, which generate $308
billion in annual sales. On Black Friday 2010, retailers at shopping
malls reported sales of $10.7 billion, an increase of 0.3% from 2009. Source

*The National Retail Federation considers the “holiday shopping” season
to be the full months of November and December, which is usually 55
days. Source

*Coined by the National Retail Federation in 2005 to generate consumer
excitement, Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) is the online
equivalent of Black Friday. In 2009, Cyber Monday generated $887
million ($1.028 billion in 2010). Source

*The busiest shopping day of the year is not Black Friday, but the
Saturday before Christmas. The busiest online shopping day takes place
on the Monday or Tuesday a week or two before the week of Christmas.

*Researchers have proven that a “50% off” sign leads in increased sales,
even if shoppers don’t know the original price or what a reasonable
price for the product would be.

*All 364 items in the popular song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” would
cost $96,824 in 2010, an increase of 10.8% from last year. Just one of
everything would cost $23,439, which is a 9.2% increase from 2009. Source

*The average holiday shopper will spend $107.50 on themselves.

*On average, it takes five trips to the mall to complete all holiday
shopping. Source

*Many “door buster deals” advertised on Black Friday, such as those on
expensive items (like HDTVs), are typically in very limited
supplies—maybe just 4-6 per store—and act merely as lures to attract
customers. Source

*When a salesperson asks a shopper which of several items she or he
prefers, the shopper will often skip the question “Should I buy? and
instead ask “Which one should I buy?

Thanksgiving 2011*Which
President was the Father of Black Friday?
Exodus 10:15 “For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the
land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the
fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any
green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field………”

No, this Bible verse was not describing throngs of Black Friday shoppers
busting through the mall doors just hours after Thanksgiving dinner, but
it sure sounds like it! Yes, Black Friday is coming soon.

Have you ever asked yourself why the fourth Thursday of the month is set
aside for Thanksgiving? President Abraham Lincoln was the first to
declare Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 and it was celebrated on
the last Thursday in November. But it was Franklin Roosevelt who set the
date as the fourth Thursday of November. What was his motivation for
changing the date? Franklin Roosevelt wanted to kick off the holiday
shopping season earlier in order to stimulate more spending during the
Great Depression. His decision was at first unpopular with Congressional
leaders who mockingly referred to Thanksgiving as "FranksGiving".
However, Roosevelt's plan worked and we now have throngs of shoppers
kicking off the holiday shopping season just hours after Thanksgiving
dinner.

*Travel: AAA says that in 2011 38.2 million Americans will drive
50 miles or more away from home over the November 23-27 Thanksgiving
holiday period, 4% more than 2010, and they expect to pay an average of
$3.39 a gallon for gas, the highest level for any Thanksgiving over the
last 10 years. Source

*The cost: The American Farm Bureau Federation says that in 2001
a family's Thanksgiving meal cost $35.04. However, in 2011 it will cost
about $50.00. Source

New Years Day
*In the old days, the New Year started with a custom called 'first
footing', which was suppose to bring good luck to people for the coming
year. As soon as midnight had passed and January 1st had started, people
used to wait behind their doors for a dark haired person to arrive. The
visitor carried a piece of coal, some bread, some money and some
greenery. These were all for good luck - the coal to make sure that the
house would always be warm, the bread to make sure everyone in the house
would have enough food to eat, money so that they would have enough
money, and the greenery to make sure that they had a long life. Source

Easter
*Andrew Johnson was the first U.S. President to hold an Easter egg roll
for children on the White House lawn.

*Jellybeans were first made in America by Boston candy maker William
Schrafft, who ran advertisements urging people to send jellybeans to
soldiers fighting in the Civil War.

*Americans consume approximately $2 billion worth of candy during the
Easter holiday season.